It was a very long 3 months as the infection in Patrick’s
lung ended up being a very rare fungal infection which was treated with a 10
week course of IV antibiotics. The good
news about the IV was it could be administered at home by family, but the bad
news was the medication was very taxing on his body, which turned into numerous
visits to the clinic for electrolyte infusions.
Patrick has decided that he wants to move forward with
college, therefore he is not going to pursue the second transplant until later
down the road. The first transplant
created more surprises than we ever imagined and Patrick more than deserves to
get back to normalcy. His disease allows
him the option to wait unless he starts to develop infections. The
medical team at Duke is supportive of his decision and know that he will pursue
the second transplant immediately if the need arises. We pray that his daily antibiotics will keep
any new infections at bay.
Patrick will attend UNC on a part time basis this fall
and plans to return to Ole Miss as a full time student in January. In the meantime, he is having fun catching
up with friends and is enjoying some adult beverages which he had to forgo on
his 21st birthday!
This is going to be the last post on “Patrick’s Oil
Change” as we are closing this chapter in our lives. I will close by repeating how very proud I am
of Patrick. My only regret is that he
does not have a new set of cells to brag about but know that this is only
temporary. Thanks be to God. xoxo
We rejoice in our suffering, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and
character produces hope.
-Romans 5:3-4
Be joyful in
hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer
-Romans
12:12